Victim, truck owner identified in Hunting Park hit-and-run

HUNTING PARK (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police have identified the bicyclist struck by a hit-and-run driver in Hunting Park, and also the owner of the truck investigators believe hit him.

55-year-old Julio Torres, of the 4500 block of North 8th Street in Philadelphia, was critically injured Monday night.

Police say the striking vehicle is registered to Raymond Jandis, whom they are trying to locate.

Torres was struck at 10:15 p.m. Monday in the 600 block of East Erie Avenue by a burgundy Ford F-150 pickup truck.

"The truck does stop. The male does get out and checks on the condition of the bicyclist, who at this point is lying on the ground," said Philadelphia Police Captain John Wilczynski. "There's a witness standing by. With that, the person operating the truck says, 'I'm going to pull the truck up and move over a little bit.' He does, and goes about a block away, pulls the car over and exits on foot and flees the scene."

Torres was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

Just before 11:00 p.m. Monday, images from Chopper 6 HD showed police surrounding a vehicle which matched the description of the striking vehicle.

The 1989 Ford, which had a broken headlight, was located just a few blocks from where Torres was struck. Investigators later confirmed it to be pickup truck that hit Torres, and that the truck belongs to Jandis.

"We'd like to talk to him and see what he knows about the crash," said Wilczynski, referring to Jandis. "He's the registered owner of the truck right now. We're hoping he'll contact us and give us an interview, at least tell us if he knows who had the car and can provide some information."

The truck has been impounded as the investigation continues.